From Chechnya to Pussy Riot: Human Rights and the Russian Reset

11/11/2013 |
7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Location: Hubbard Hall, Room 208 Thomas F. Shannon Room

Event Type: Lecture

Sponsor: Government

Contact: Laura Henry

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Open to the Public
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As the Winter Olympics in Sochi draw near, the Russian government standscharged with multiple human rights abuses and a low-intensity conflictsimmers just miles from Olympic venues. At the same time, a newfound civic consciousness is emerging in Russia as citizens lose their fear of the authorities and the authorities lose their ability to control the flow of information. Few dare to predict exactly how this tension will be resolved, but most agree the status quo is unsustainable. Whatever happens, consequences for U.S. interests are high. Join the U.S. Helsinki Commission's Russia expert Kyle Parker for a timely conversation on why human rights continue to be at the center of U.S.-Russian relations.

Kyle Parker, a native of Old Town, Maine, is the senior policy advisor for Russia at the U.S. Helsinki Commission-a government agency that monitors human rights compliance in Europe. Kyle is widely recognized as an authority on Russia in the U.S. Congress and a leading advocate for human rights. He recently led an historic multi-year effort combining trade and human rights that culminated in the passage of the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012.

Sponsored by the Department of Russian and the Department of Government and Legal Studies with support from the John C. Donovan Lecture Fund.

For more information contact Laura Henry at lhenry@bowdoin.edu or 725-3558.